Indian Mujahideen planning to form terror outfit like Taliban in India

The online chats reveal that IM leaders are not getting along with the ISI who created them and now want to form a new group called Hindustan Tehreek-e Taliban on the lines of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Taliban.

The Indian Mujahideen saga reads like a thriller script. The terror outfit's grand plans to strike terror across India, its growing differences with Pakistan spy agency ISI, split within the group, the home grown terror group's links with Taliban and Al Qaeeda, its hideouts in other countries, plans to run a kidnapping syndicate to raise funds and striking a possible deal with the Maoists- the entire tale is hidden in over 3,000 pages of internet chats between top IM leaders accessed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Investigators say getting access to these chats was a challenge as it involved seeking information from various countries. "We had to use the official channel and use other sources as well to get it. The chat contents have strengthened our claims," said an officer who is a part of the investigation.

Information related to online chats was sought from USA, UK, Canada, Ireland and Nepal. "It was a jigsaw puzzle. Cracking the coded language and analysing the data running into thousands of pages, was a task," he added. The agency analysed the chats and included it in the supplementary charge sheet filed by it on the larger conspiracy of IM.

In its charge sheet NIA also pressed terror charges against Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa better known Yasin Bhatkal in the terror circles and his accomplice Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi along with other IM members.

Bhatkal and Haddi were arrested last year from the Indo-Nepal border after a secret intelligence operation established their presence in Pokhra, Nepal.

As the NIA sleuths went through the chat data provided by service providers, it was established that internet protocols were not real ones but proxies from different locations. Yasin and Akhtar were using as many as nine different ids between them.

While getting full access to the chats was a priority, investigators say that recovery of data from seized laptops and mobile phones was also crucial to extract evidence that can stand scrutiny of law at an international forum. "After all these are cases of international terror as we have established links with Al Qaeeda and Taliban," said an officer investigating officer.

Data related to the use of explosives was found in a file called "RDX." A file named "Terror" had details about different modes of guerilla warfare. "The possession of this document with the accused clearly establishes the nefarious design to carry out terrorist attacks on India."

Yasin Bhatkal (face shrouded), believed to be a key operative of the banned terrorist group Indian Mujahideen (IM), being produced outside a court in New Delhi after his arrest on August 2013.

A new monster

A file named "stinger missile" was downloaded by Yasin on his laptop. The recovery is significant as in one of the chats Riyaz had instructed Yasin to prepare for missile attacks. Files containing motivational video clips including images of Osama Bin Laden, the slain al-Qaeda leader and information related to future attacks have also been seized by investigators after cracking the secret codes on Yasin's and Akhtar's laptops. Now that Yasin who had been evading intelligence agencies since 2007 is in custody, investigators believe more IM leaders will soon be caught.

"Yasin and Haddi are just the beginning. Hopefully, we will get more of them soon," he added.

The online chats reveal that IM leaders are not getting along with the ISI who created them and now want to form a new group called Hindustan Tehreek-e Taliban on the lines of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Taliban. The online chats also reveal that IM's growing links with Talliban and Al Qaeeda are not appreciated by ISI.

A creation of ISI, IM is now proving to be a Frankenstein monster for Pakistan, something which the intelligence officials believe, could crack open the group.